The tale of my transformation from lethargy and laziness to true health and fitness!

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The title lists a very simple equation, and yet the solution seems to evade so many people. Let me write it out again:

True Fitness = Hard Work + Proper Nutrition

It’s not to say that Hard Work is more important than Nutrition – I just happened to list them alphabetically. The opposite is probably true that proper nutrition will benefit you more long-term than hard work if you could only pick one. By Hard Work, I mean strenuous, physically-exerting exercise. And by Proper Nutrition, I mean eating foods that are actually good for the body (that’s a dissertation in itself) and getting proper sleep and hydration.

I often run into people that I haven’t seen in awhile, and they typically remark how much thinner and more fit I look. Of course, they want to know what I’ve been doing to achieve my level of fitness. When I tell them about my workouts and changed eating habits, their peaked interest usually dwindles. It amazes me that practical living and hard work are a major turnoff to people. I mean, when you see how hard people will work to live in a certain community or get to a certain position at work, it’s obvious that hard work is not a foreign concept to them; and they seem to have enough common sense that they would seriously evaluate the food their body intakes.

Let me reiterate:

True Fitness = Hard Work + Proper Nutrition

There are no quick fixes or magic potions that will turn you from a lump of dough to a fit, vibrant person. It will take hard, strenuous work. I have stated it before, but I am a strong advocate of working out with kettlebells and bodyweight exercise.

The benefits are clear:

You will get strong

You don’t need much space

You don’t need to go to a gym

You don’t need to make much of a financial commitment

You can accomplish a lot of hard work in a fairly short period of time

It will take some effort to research the foods you eat, read the labels, understand what ingredients/foods/medicines are good or bad for you, make well-informed food purchases, plan and prepare nutritious meals, etc.

Again, the benefits are clear:

If you are overweight, you will lose weight

You will be healthier with a stronger immune system

You will have more natural energy (this will fit perfectly into your strenuous workouts)

You will be likely live longer

You will maintain the weight your body was designed to support and your joints will thank you profusely for that

The solution to true fitness couldn’t really be this simple, could it? If you read most of the trendy health and fitness magazines, then to them, the answer is no. There’s always a new gimmick workout or diet (or even diet pill). There’s a huge industry devoted to the millions of people who keep futilely chasing the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Decide today to be equally committed to both components of the solution, and you will be the better for it. Don’t expect many others to join you, but hey, you are living your life in your body. Only you can directly change and affect you.

In my previous post, I mentioned capturing your form on video for self critique. I spent a few hours this weekend shooting some video of myself doing a 2-hand kettlebell swing and then put together a video that highlights the key things to remember when swinging a kettlebell.

Although my eating habits over the past few days were a little out of character in terms of health and nutrition, I controlled myself to the point of where I don’t feel a need to make any rash New Year’s resolutions.

Notwithstanding, I do have a personal goal of accomplishing more physically in 2013 than I did in 2012. 2012 was a year of transformation for me, including dramatic weight loss and some strength gains and metabolic conditioning. Now that I am relatively at a weight that I want to maintain and can manage, I plan to more aggressively increase my overall strength.

As an aside, Strong First is a great website that is dedicated to the strength building. The premise of this site is that as you become stronger (with a focus solely on that – hence strong first), the more fit you will become. Interesting food for thought as most people who are trying to go from unfit to fit strictly focus on weight loss and not actually increasing their strength.

In 2012, I experienced the most significant weight loss when I strictly counted every calorie that I consumed for a period of 100 straight days. I used an app on my phone called My Fitness Pal. While I honestly don’t aspire to track my caloric intake for the entirety of 2013, I am planning on continuing to use this app to track my caloric intake for the first week of each month. Don’t forget to stick to what has helped you achieve success!

Today’s first concentrated workout of the new year will include the following:

30 burpees (with a pushup) – for a warmup

100 kettlebell swings (likely with a 53 lb kb)

100 kettlebell goblet squats (35 lb kb)

100 kettlebell clean and press (35 lb kb)

100 kettlebell snatches (35 lb kb)

Not sure yet on how I will break them down set-wise, but that is today’s goal.

With workouts of these nature, the reality is that it is more of a test of the the mind and will than the body itself. Training your body to push past what your mind tells you it can or cannot do has incredible rewards and will help you push past barriers or limitations.

For 2013, I am committed to getting stronger while continuing to stick to the basics that were the foundation of my transformational 2012. What will you commit to in 2013?

It was refreshing to get an afternoon workout in today. All you need to complete it is a kettlebell and something to jump onto. Here is what we did:

WARMUP
– stretch
– 10 sets of 10 2-handed kettlebell swings with focus on form and proper breathing
– 30 pushups followed by 5 sets of 7 pushups with 15 second rest intervals

WORKOUT
– 7 sets of…
–> 5 slow grinding goblet squats (you could use either a kettlebell or a dumbbell)
–> 10 box jumps where you fully extend to a standing position at the top, then complete an air squat, and then step back down.

You could complete this individually, or with a partner… switching every time both are complete.

For the kettlebell swings, I used a 16kg kettlebell. For the goblet squats, I used a 12kg kettlebell, and the box jump is approximately 24″.

It is important to note that the workout focused on controlled movement and not bouncing up and down on the knee joints (your knees will thank you for that, and the goal is strength building NOT max reps). This workout should thoroughly smoke your legs and core.

Remember, don’t forget to stretch when you are done… Bretzels and press-ups are good for that.

If you happen to try this workout, post here and let me know what you think.